The euro slid back towards 13-year lows against the US dollar today after the European Central Bank kept borrowing rates unchanged and said that it would fully implement its €1trillion government bond buying programme.

European shares, however, soared to 14-year highs, with the pan-European Eurofirst 300 index of leading stock rising 0.8 per cent to 1,653.19 points - its highest since late 2000. In London, the FTSE 100 index hit a fresh high breaking through the 7,100-point barrier for the first time.

The ECB confirmed that its asset-buying programme would print €60billion euros a month of new money, and will last until at least September 2016.

It is also the sixth straight ECB meeting in a row that interest rates have been held at 0.05 per cent. Banks will still be charged 0.3 per cent for overnight borrowing from the ECB, and hit with a negative interest rate of -0.2 per cent for leaving cash in the ECB's vaults.

Held tight: It is the sixth straight ECB meeting in a row that interest rates have been held at 0.05 per cent

The euro was down 0.7 per cent at $1.057 close to its recent low against the dollar of $1.052. The euro has weakened in seven of the past eight days and is approaching last month's low of $1.0458, its weakest level since January 2003.

Carl Hammer, currency strategist at SEB said: 'We are expecting the dollar to consolidate for the next month or so. The market is cautious about when the Fed will start raising rates. Investors would still look to buy the dollar.'

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SEB forecasts the euro to fall beyond parity to $0.95 at the end of 2015.

ECB President, Mario Draghi, said: 'Looking ahead, our focus will be on the full implementation of our monetary policy measures. Through these measures, we will contribute to a further improvement in the economic outlook, a reduction in economic slack and a recovery in money and credit growth.

He added: 'Purchases are intended to run until the end of September 2016 and, in any case, until we see a sustained adjustment in the path of inflation that is consistent with our aim of achieving inflation rates below, but close to, 2 percent over the medium term.'

The only real surprise during the conference came at the start when a female protestor jumped on the table in front of Mario Draghi, throwing confetti on him while yelling 'end ECB dictatorship'.

She is now believed to be in custody in Frankfurt.

Aside from the shenanigans at the start Draghi said that help for cash-strapped Greece was firmly in the hands of the Greek government, which has yet to produce a programme of economic reforms that is acceptable to its creditors.

ECB policymakers sanctioned further Emergency Lending Assistance for Greece's banks up to €74billion, a banking source said on Tuesday, a reminder of the dire financial straits that the country is in.

Draghi said: 'We approved ELA and we'll continue to do so, extend the liquidity to the Greek banks while they are solvent and they have adequate collateral.'

Time is running out for Athens to improve a package of reforms required for the release of loans that it requires to stay afloat.

Were Greece, first bailed out in 2010 and again two years later, ultimately to tumble out of the euro, it would deal a blow to the credibility of the currency union.

Euro low: During the meeting the euro currency was down 0.7 per cent at $1.058

Euro-area government bonds rose after Draghi said policy makers' debt-buying plan must be implemented in full to work.

Germany's 10-year bonds, the region's benchmark government securities, set a record-low yield during the press conference reflecting the clamor of demand that the ECB program has inspired.

It shows that investors are calculating that central banks will maintain accommodative monetary policy for some time, with the eurozone still in negative inflation and China's economy slowing.

Nick Gartside, fund manager at JPM Global Bond Opportunities Fund, said: 'Globally investors should bear in mind this is not the time to fight central banks.

'Powerful policies are forcing bond investors to sell bonds back to the central banks and redeploy those assets, and we cannot forget how much this supports risk assets.'

The ECB meeting was held a day early to allow Draghi to join finance ministers and central bankers from the Group of 20 top economies at the International Monetary Fund's Spring meeting in Washington.

In its World Economic Outlook on Tuesday, the IMF raised growth expectations for all the major economies in the bloc.